Mid-South crops blooming, silking, squaring
Jul 11, 2007 9:23 AM,
By Elton Robinson
Farm Press Editorial Staff
Most of the Mid-South cotton crop has now reached the squaring stage, according to USDA’s crop progress report for the week ending July 8, with most states at 90 percent or above.
Georgia, at 55 percent squaring is behind its normal pace of 84 percent squaring. Also behind normal are Alabama and South Carolina, at 50 percent squaring.
Louisiana and Mississippi are behind the normal pace for setting bolls, while Arkansas, Missouri and Tennessee are ahead, according to the report.
Fifty-five percent of the U.S. cotton crop is listed in good to excellent condition, according to USDA. However, Alabama reports that 68 percent of its crop is in poor to very poor condition.
Thirty-two percent of the nation’s corn crop has entered the silking stage, according to the report. Tennessee reported 86 percent in the silking stage. Seventy percent of the U.S. corn crop is listed in good or better condition.
Twelve percent of the U.S. rice crop had headed by July 8, according to USDA, one percentage point behind the five-year average. Louisiana reports 54 percent at heading, compared to 52 percent for Texas. Thirteen percent of the Mississippi crop is headed, compared to 6 percent for Missouri and 1 percent for Arkansas. Seventy-two percent of the U.S. rice crop is reported in good or better condition.
USDA reports that 40 percent of the nation’s soybean crop is blooming, compared to a five-year average of 28 percent. In the Mid-South, Louisiana and Mississippi are setting the pace with 87 percent and 92 percent blooming, respectively, compared to Arkansas and Tennessee, both at 36 percent.
Sixty-five percent of the U.S. soybean crop is in good or better condition. Arkansas reports 61 percent in that category, compared to 69 percent for Louisiana and 71 percent for Mississippi. However, only 37 percent of the Tennessee crop is listed in good or better shape, with 26 percent listed as poor to very poor.
USDA reports that 58 percent of the nation’s winter wheat crop had been harvested by July 8.
e-mail: erobinson@farmpress.com
